Happy Mother's Day
by MaidenOfTheWorld
Summary: The prodigal son returns at the last hour of Mother's Day, and Bruce isn't amused. When Alex tries to sneak in through a window of Wayne Manor, Bruce is there to catch him, and he demands to know how his son plans to explain his absense to Diana. ((WONDERBAT)) [One-shot!]


"Good evening, _son_." Bruce changed the tone of his greeting without any notice, drawing his inspiration from Alex's uncertain appearance at the manor. He stood arms cross, scowl heavy, feet planted wide apart as he witnessed the disheveled attempt of his eldest son (with his wife) to sneak into the west wing hallway undetected after failing to arrive at the time he committed to.

The surprise was visible behind the wavy strands of sandy blond hair that covered his face, proving that Alex was no sleuth like his father was. "Oh, uh… hiii, daaad." He greeted him like he was a child caught stealing some ice cream from the kitchen, rather than a grown man crawling in through the window of a well lit hallway of a house as guarded by security cameras as Wayne Manor was. It wasn't the foolishness that irritated him, oh no.

It was that cheeky smile that sent him into the role of the authoritarian parent that he reveled in.

"It's not me you should be talking to. It's your mother." scolded Bruce.

"Well, if she was the one who found me like this, I would have said hi to her too." Alex said, knowing full well that he was getting on his father's last nerve. He witnessed the grown man before him fumble with his grip on the window frame, rocking back and forth while he tried to calculate his next move, only to fall forward. The noise his body made when it hit the hardwood was so heavy, Bruce hoped that it hurt him, even a little bit. But he knew that the only man in the world born with Amazonian strength would have felt nothing more than a mere tap on his side when he landed.

Disappointment written on his face, Bruce decided to try guilting his son in order to draw out some sign of remorse from his otherwise cheery disposition, "Penelope arrived at noon, Silas came by for dinner and Iris made sure to call to let us know that she'd only be able to make dessert, but is now sleeping in her old room so she can have breakfast with us in the morning."

"Wow, what a… happy family we have here." Alex chuckled, clearly intending for his words to be taken with a grain of salt. Unable to find a single reason to frown, he managed to keep his grin in tact while he rose up off of the floor and fixed up his outfit. As per usual, he was wearing his tattered jeans and a stained graphic t-shirt for a band or a show that Bruce had never heard of before. His sneakers were worn, but they couldn't compare to that old rucksack that he got for his eighteenth birthday. The one his mother had selected, the one he had paid for, the one they had filled with the necessities he'd need to travel abroad.

That was three years ago.

"You haven't changed at all, Alex," Bruce complained. "I thought the Peace Corps would have helped fine tune this willy nilly attitude of yours."

"Did… Did Bruce Wayne just say 'willy nilly'?" Alex asked, sounding absolutely thrilled to have been present at that very moment to witness such a thing.

The way his jaw clamped down in response to his son's teasing was nothing new and neither was the irritation that usually caused him to respond to Alex in such a way. "I'm very tired," he admitted for the sake of defending himself. Then, he turned away from the source of his frustration and began to stomp his way down the hall. "And so is Diana. You know how busy we are, and how much today means to her."

"Of course I do, because she means the world to me." Alex admitted freely as he caught up to Bruce. He fixed the strap of his rucksack on his shoulder and carelessly followed his father without any clue as to where he was leading him to.

Dissatisfied with his actions in comparison to his words, Bruce felt it was fair to interrogate him then and there. "Then where were you? Did your transcommunicator break?"  
"Nooo," Alex answered slowly. "The… connection doesn't reach where I went."

Bruce didn't need to hear another word. He knew exactly what that meant and the anger he felt - the brand of fury that he felt belonged specifically to his half-Amazonian son - threatened to choke the words he had rising up the back of his throat. "Themyscira!?"

Though he stopped walking, Alex did not. At the very least, he took two more paces forward than his father before he agreed to their standstill and stopped himself from reaching the staircase. His broad shoulders rose up to meet the curly mop of hair on his head before falling back dowards, indicating a rather heavy sigh escaped him. Bruce saw a glimpse of awareness in that single action but it wasn't enough to soothe his aggression. It wasn't a secret between him and his sons that he did not want them attempting to visit the isle of the Amazons, but there was one son in particular who could never seem to listen.

(One of his sons with his wife, that is.)

"I had my reasons, dad." Alex implied that he had a proper excuse all without providing one.

It mattered not to Bruce. "And I have mine whenever we have this conversation! Your grandmother never seen me as her family, so why would she accept you? You know what she did to your mother - why even _she_ isn't allowed back there, after all she's done to save the world time and time again. Do you hear anything I say to you!?"

"Bruce?" Came a gentle call from behind one of the many doors in the west wing.

"Dammit." Bruce cursed, knowing that their argument was about to be cut short.

"Dad," Alex whispered. "Just let me explain-"

"If you wanted to tell me anything, you would have done so before-"

And that was the end of their dispute, for the time being, as the bedroom door of the master suite swung open and a robbed Diana came out into the hall. "What on Earth is all this stomping and yelling about-Oh! Alexandros!?"

"Hi, mama." Alex greeted her so genuinely, his smile could be heard in his words.

Bruce merely stepped aside and did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes while the two of them hugged. It had been almost a year since Diana had last seen Alex in person, and she always complained that video calls were never enough. The two of them had such a precious bond that was visible to someone as cold hearted as the Batman, and given that it was Mother's Day, he didn't want to let his 'sourness' ruin the mood, as his 'sweet' wife referred to it as.

"I'm so happy you're here." Diana sounded rather emotional as she stroked Alex's messy hair. Bruce watched her look over her 'little warrior' as if he had just come inside from a scuffle in a sandbox; no matter how old he got, she always treated her firstborn boy like he was much more fragile than he actually was. He had assumed it was because she had grown up believing that men were not as strong as the Amazons of Themyscira, but her relationship with Silas was nothing like what it was with Alex. She saw something in him that needed to be protected.

Which would most likely explain why Bruce was always tougher with him.

"Of course I'm here!" Alex exclaimed. He moved back just enough so he could see his mother, but not so much that he'd have to let go of her waist.

Diana, having felt the separation more than he did, immediately calmed herself so that she could cock her eyebrow at that beaming expression of his. Without hesitation, she reminded him, "Where was this attitude for my birthday then? Or any of our family holidays? Or _your_ birthday, for that matter?"

When Bruce thought that Alex might buckle, he instead chuckled at the barrage of questions being flung at him. "There was something special about today, that no other day could compare to!" He cheered.

"Oh please," Diana hummed low, warning of his disbelief. "Do explain."

Intrigued, Bruce arched a brow now too. He eyed that massive backpack that his son took with him all over the world and wondered what could possibly be inside of it. Did he bring his mother a shield from her homeland? Maybe a book on the history she'd missed out on while having been exiled? Something that she could only get on the island of Themyscira?

To his surprise, Alex didn't go anywhere near his bag. He simply reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a piece of paper. It looked crumpled and worn from the trek it must have went on to get all the way to Gotham City, much like his relationship with his own son.

"What's this?" Diana wondered aloud, clearly unaware of the backstory behind her gift.

Softly, all Alex had to say was, "Just open it, mama."

Forever the curious type, Diana didn't need to be told twice to throw open the creased halves of the letter and scour the page with her wide-eyed gaze. Once the letter was in her hands, Bruce was incredibly nervous, somewhat wishing he'd had the chance to look over the contents of the letter from her home if only to make sure that it wouldn't cause her any pain. He could hope all he wanted that Hippolyta would say something kind to her daughter for the first time in centuries, but from his experience with her, the chance of something amicable being written in that letter was highly unlikely.

"Alexandros… What…?" Diana was teary-eyed once again, only now she was also shaking. Bruce took a step forward, ready to pounce if his wife needed his support.

Never without a look of pure joy on his face, Alex nodded at his mother. "It's only an offer to the Reform Island, but it's a start."

"What? What is?" Bruce demanded to know.

Diana, on the other hand, collapsed against her son, unable to speak as she held onto him for dear life. That grip looked like it channeled all of her strength, but Alex could take it, and he did so happily. Over his mother's shoulder, he looked to Bruce and finally revealed what the surprise gift entailed, "After I performed a few trials for the gods amusement, they guaranteed that mama could barter for an end to her exile on Themyscira. She only has to pray to Athena and a date will be set."

"You performed trials for the Olympian gods?" Bruce, tackling each point of the reveal at a time, started with the most startling fact in his eyes: his son could have fought Ares or Zeus alone!?

Alex laughed off the concern, "Nothing as horrible as what Hercules went through, so I think it's safe to say that they like me more than him."

"You're amazing, my darling." Was all Diana could manage to say while battling with her current state of emotion. She refused to leave the crook of Alex's neck, burying her head there to hide her tears should they fall.

Seeing the exchange of pure emotion between his wife and his son made Bruce reel, and he quickly realized that his focus had been wrong at first. No matter the circumstances, Alex had done something that not even Diana herself had achieved. He had done something that Bruce had never figured out how to do: he forged an opportunity for his mother to see her mother again, and even presented to her on Mother's Day. It wasn't a holiday that could have dated back to ancient times, but the title of the day managed to elevate the gift giving that Alex did.

His overly cheery, eternally optimistic, always smiling from ear to ear son, Alexandros Wayne.

And all of that sunny disposition was a testament to his wife, Diana Prince-Wayne.

"I'll see you two later." Bruce mumbled to the two of them as he decide to take his leave. He patted Diana's shoulder with the most affection he could provide her with in that moment, while also staring down Alex with a firmness in his eyes. It wasn't as cruel or harsh as it was when he fell through the window. No, now, he glanced at his only Amazonian son with a type of pride that was earned by him. He could grill him further in the morning.

Tonight, he was Diana's darling son and they deserved their time together.

He left them alone, wandering into the master bedroom and closing the door softly behind him. Bruce stood there in awe of what he had truly just learned, unable to fathom what it was Alex had done to make the gods bend to his will. An achievement that even his parents couldn't obtain now belonged to him, and yet, he saw what Alex had done as a testament to his parents. In all honesty, it belonged entirely to Diana. Through an accomplishment of his son, he was once again - for the umpteenth time over the course of their tumultuous relationship - he couldn't help but marvel at the woman who had agreed to be his wife, who agreed to be the mother of his children.

He was so glad that Alex came home, because Diana truly did deserve the most joyous Mother's Day, and he gave that to her.


End file.
